/spadassin/

11.24.2006

Reason Magazine - Brother, Can You Spare 22 Terawatts?

An interesting article on how daunting it may be to meet the energy demands of a fully developed world. I think the analysis is good, but flawed in assuming no improvements to efficiency or other technologies.

Nocera calculates that if 9 billion people in 2050 used energy at the rate that Americans do today that the world would have to generate 102.2 TW of powerÂmore than seven times current production. If people adopted the energy lifestyle of Western Europe, power production would need to rise to 45.5 terawatts.

11.10.2006

SPACE.com -- Freak One-Eyed Monster Storm Spotted on Saturn

A freaky storm two-thirds the diameter of Earth and unlike anything ever seen has been spotted on Saturn.

The tempest, some 5,000 miles wide (8,000 kilometers), has an oddly human-looking hurricane-like eye [image]. But it is very different from a terrestrial hurricane, scientists said today.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft photographed the huge storm. It swirls with 350 mph winds at the ringed planet's south pole. It has a remarkably well-defined eye ringed by clouds that soar 20 to 45 miles high (30 to 75 kilometers), or up to five times taller than hurricane clouds on Earth.

11.07.2006

An interesting article on the coming revolution in on demand personal manufacturing:

According to MIT's Neil Gershenfeld, the digital revolution is over, and the good guys won. The next big change will be about manufacturing. Anyone with a PC will be able to build anything just by hitting 'print.'